How To Search For Your Own Email In The Ashley Madison Hack Without Being A Sleaze Bag

If you’re worried that your information was released in the 9.7 gigabyte Ashley Madison data dump, chances are you might already be a bit of sleaze bag. It happens.

But now there’s a way to check to see if you’ve been affected without the risk of looking at other people’s info and becoming a bigger sleazebag in the process.

HaveIbBeenPwned.com allows users to check the hacked data for their own emails while keeping everyone else’s information private.

Users who wish to check for an email address in the data dump must go through a verification process similar to those offered by other free services online. This way, you can figure out if your own privacy has been violated without being tempted to violate the privacy of others.

Troy Hunt, the developer behind the site, said he wanted to give people the option to see if they’ve been impacted, but didn’t want to be responsible for sharing people’s dirty laundry with the world.

“I’m not prepared for HIBP to be the avenue through which a wife discovers her husband is cheating,” he wrote on his website, followed by the following tweet:

Please remember reporters: an account with Ashley Madison doesn’t mean anyone had an affair, or ever would. Potential risk of of suicide.

“Due to the Ashley Madison event, I’ve introduced the concept of a ‘sensitive’ breach,” he said. “Sensitive data will not be searchable via anonymous users on the public site, nor will there be indication that a user has appeared in a sensitive breach.”

What a thoughtful way to handle a bad situation. Of course, there are probably hundreds of other sites currently offering the data to anonymous users, so the whole thing is a moot point. But still, very thoughtful.